


Show them what you're made of

by okayjusthe



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, M/M, NaruSasu - Freeform, NarutoxSasuke, flying people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28500801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okayjusthe/pseuds/okayjusthe
Summary: Naruto lives in a world where everyone plays and works in the sky - except him. One day, that all changes.Pairing: Naruto x Sasuke
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

The forest is quiet like a school class after the teacher has yelled out asking for silence. Quiet whispers and sneaky glances. A low murmur fills the gaps between the trees and vines.

A blonde-haired boy with three whisker marks on each cheek and bright blue eyes grips the wooden bed frame beneath him.

And screams.

The forest – his home – is just waking up but the boy, Naruto, hasn’t slept at all. The sun peeks through the holes in the walls and shines into the hut.

Naruto’s blonde hair is wet with sweat and falling into his eyes, but it doesn’t matter because his eyes are screwed shut with pain.

_I’m going to die_

It’s his only thought as he feels another wave of burning pain on his back.

His only friend, sullen face and dry humour, had gone home yesterday. Long before anything seemed to be wrong.

Like they usually did on Saturdays, Naruto had waited by the river until he came. This time, his friend had brought rice balls and crackers. A big smirk on his face as Naruto devoured them.

As usual, they practised fighting and played games.

As usual, they talked about the animals in the forest.

And as usual, Naruto had watched his only friend return back to the town without him.

Fresh tears fall down Naruto’s face as the pain becomes deeper – like it’s passing from the skin on his back to the muscle and bone. It feels like someone has lit his entire back on fire. This new pain comes on so suddenly and so intensely, that he urinates on himself.

He doesn’t know what happening – until he hears bones in his shoulder blades crack. There’s intense pressure at two points on his back.

Something is growing out of him.

_It can’t be –_

More cracking sounds. Naruto’s face is still dripping with sweat, tears and snot. The feeling of something erupting out of him like the anger of wishing you could change the world.

Naruto is sweaty, messy and stinky.

And he realises something.

_I’m growing wings_

Despite the exhaustion and pain, a light feeling enters the pit of Naruto’s stomach.

Everyone is supposed to grow their wings by the time they are six years old. As a young kid, Naruto had waited impatiently every day to wake up with the one thing that marked growing up. He would play games with the other kids where they would pretend to fly. He would laugh as he got in trouble with the orphanage workers for hitting things with his arms as he flapped them.

But then he turned seven, eight, and nine and his wings never grew. At ten, it turned out his disability was just too much for everyone.

After the time it takes for Naruto to sing his favourite lullaby to himself three times, he can feel the pressure on his back easing, and the pain fading.

By the time his wings are fully out, and the new baby feathers are drifting down on to his back, Naruto has lost consciousness.

\--

4 YEARS AGO

‘Come here.’

Naruto lifts his head from where he is attempting to read a book. It’s currently reading hour before bed time at the orphanage, and Naruto and his best friend had eaten quickly and left dinner early so they could spend time by themselves in the room they usually share with four other boys.

Naruto is disappointed by who he sees.

It’s the big boss lady – the one who orders everyone around and is never happy – standing cross-armed at the door.

Her face is set in her usual sneer. Naruto wonders if she was born with those wrinkles in between her eyebrows. Her dark brown hair is up in a tight bun, and her white wings are flapping lazily behind her. 

‘Why?’ Naruto asks. He hasn’t grown up very trusting.

She frowns more. Her chubby features and thin lips make her look like someone just tried to pinch her. ‘Be obedient and come now,’ she says sternly.

Naruto looks across at his closest friend, sleeping quietly in the bed next to him. They’d chatted and complained about the other kids until they both started feeling sleepy. If he was awake, he’d be able to tell Naruto whether to go or stay or fight with just a look.

But he’s asleep.

Naruto closes the book and jumps off the bed because he can’t gracefully float down. The big boss lady looks even more unhappy as she is reminded by his jump down that she won’t be able to just fly to wherever she wants to go. She’ll have to take the stairs that are reserved for people with injured wings (or the one person in the entire town who doesn’t have wings – Naruto).

She quickly turns on her heel and starts marching down the hallway as soon as she knows Naruto is out of the room and following.

The carpet is a stained grey colour and the lights are flickering on and off. Rowdy kids who don’t know how to fly properly yet often break lights.

Naruto doesn’t even bother asking where they are going. He knows this happens to kids sometimes. It’s either good news (they’ve been adopted) or bad news (he doesn’t know exactly what that is).

‘Hurry up, now,’ the big boss lady says as they turn a corner and start taking stairs instead of flying straight out the window and up. They walk up six flights of stairs before they reach their destination.

Naruto enters a big towering mahogany door that leads into a room with two couches, art on every wall, a fancy refrigerator filled with snacks and a sturdy wood table filled with papers – the big boss’s office.

‘Sit down, Naruto,’ she says, pointing at one of the couches. It’s the first time she has said his name.

Naruto sits on the nearest couch. It’s big and he sinks into the plushness.

But he’d feel more comfortable sitting on the cold hard wood in his room.

A ball just under his ribs has dropped into the pit of his stomach. The ball is getting heavier and heavier. He remembers the comforting teasing and rivalry between him and his best friend. _Will I ever see him again?_

‘Now, as you are well aware, you are a burden on the system. And this institution.’ The big boss lady says.

Naruto nods. He has definitely heard that enough times from the adults at this place.

‘We’ve never had – your condition,’ she waves at him and one of her wings flaps in agitation, ‘happen with any children. And we’ve asked neighbouring towns and have heard the same things. After careful consideration, we have decided we can no longer support you and have received approval from the town’s leaders to have you removed. Do you understand?’

Naruto doesn’t nod.

She pretends not to notice.

‘Very good. Start packing tonight. You need to leave and live by yourself. We can no longer give you any food, shelter or cover any more of your expenses.’ The big boss lady exhales and uses her wings to raise herself off the floor a few centimeters to signal the end of the conversation.

At ten years old, Naruto realises that this is bad news.

\--

The first thing Naruto notices is the smell of blood. Dried blood. And urine. Naruto tries to open his mouth a bit and his lips pull apart slowly like they are stuck together.

The next thing he notices is that the pain in his back is gone.

Naruto gently tries to get up, carefully bringing his legs to his chest so he can get on his hands and knees. His vision blacks out at the edges because of the movement, blood rushing through his body.

He is shaking all over. When he moves, he can feel a new weight on his back.

His stubbornness is the only that keeps him from not falling straight back down.

_Water_

Naruto very carefully gets off his wooden bed frame and walks (or stumbles) to the bucket he keeps in his hut. He very carefully tries not to think about anything that happened in the last 24 hours and concentrates on getting to the bucket.

He gets water in the palms of his hands – no time for cups or glasses – and starts drinking eagerly. His doesn’t realise how thirsty he is until almost all of the water is gone.

Naruto is exhausted, but through the shock and weariness he feels something else.

It’s the same feeling he got when he realised it was wings growing out of him: excitement.

The first thoughts that enter the blonde-haired boy’s mind are fantasies of returning to the town, flying around with the other kids his age, getting acknowledgement from the adults around him, being adopted by a nice family with lots of food and finally being able to be together with his best friend.

Naruto doesn’t know why it took him until he was fourteen years old to get wings, and why it was so painful, but he doesn’t even have the energy to feel frustrated.

Bucket nearly empty and his whole body feeling better, all he can think about is his future life.

He always knew he was different. Getting wings late is probably just something to do with that.

In the orphanage, when the other children got their wings at six, it took a few days for them to start flying and practising with a teacher, so Naruto knows he’ll still be stuck on the ground for a bit longer. But as soon as he recovers, he sure as hell is going to show everyone what he can do.

It’s only when Naruto starts getting the last little bit of water on an old rag to gently wipe himself down and inspect his wings that he notices something wrong.

They’re black.


	2. Chapter 2

4 YEARS AGO

When Naruto gets back to the room he shares with the other boys at the orphanage, he immediately jumps on his bed and grabs his stuffed fox toy. When he left, it was only him and his best friend in the room, but now he can see everyone huddled under thin blankets.

The big boss lady had said to start packing tonight, but having been at the orphanage for almost his entire life, Naruto doesn’t even know what bag to put things in.

Naruto lays down and rolls over to face his best friend while tightly hugging his toy. ‘Sasuke,’ Naruto whispers. ‘Sasuke, wake up!’

Sasuke doesn’t stir, so Naruto gets off his bed again and tiptoes over. Naruto starts poking him in the rib. Finally, big black eyes flutter open, nose scrunched up and lips pulled down.

‘Naruto?’

‘Sasuke! It’s an emergency!’ Naruto whispers, mouth right next to his ear. He starts gripping the fox toy so hard, it’s head lolls to one side.

Immediately Sasuke’s whole demeanour changes. He quickly pushes himself out of bed and looks at Naruto. Naruto looks like he is ready to cry – eyes red and brows furrowed.

Sasuke feels uncomfortable. Seeing Naruto, who is always pulling pranks and starting dumb competitions, look worried is enough for Sasuke to wish (as usual) that he had a mum to complain to, tug on and help solve all the troubles in the world.

‘I have to leave Sasuke, the big boss lady said I have to start packing!’ Naruto talks fast, and his voice starts getting louder even though he is trying to whisper.

‘What? Why? Also – it’s Mrs. Outsutsuki, stop calling her that.’

‘I’m not normal, that’s why! And I don’t get it, but it means I have to go.’ Naruto really starts crying now, fat tears rolling out of the corner of his eyes and down his cheeks. He jumps because he can’t fly to get onto Sasuke’s bed and hug him. ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again.’

Sasuke – who usually hates all physical touch – hugs him back. ‘No, idiot. We’ll figure this out. We’ll wake up and this will all be a bad dream.’ He still feels in shock from this news.

They both grew up without any parents or family, so they know what it’s like to see each other cry – but this is different. For the first time since they were eight years old, and Sasuke spotted Naruto after he had fallen from a window trying to fly, Naruto and Sasuke both know subconsciously that they won’t be able to be together for a long time.

\--

Naruto sits by one of the lakes near the edge of town, skipping stones. He gets to five before it plops into the water.

It’s Monday. Two days after he first felt the pain in his back.

An anomaly and an orphan, his Mondays usually involved doing chores and working in the back at a ramen shop. He would mop the floors, bring in the boxes of food, wash the dishes and fetch water. In return, he’d get enough food for a few days.

Usually, Naruto would look forward to seeing the ramen shop owner, Mr. Ichiraku. His family are one of the few people in the town who don’t look at him like he’s a weird bug that might be dangerous. And his shop is on the ground level.

(Naruto’s options have always been limited to shops and buildings built on the ground floor or with stairs.)

But today he wasn’t looking forward to going into town.

Naruto doesn’t know much about wings, having never had them before, but he does know that black oversized wings probably aren’t going to get people to look at him any better. They’ll probably just start looking at him like he’s a wild animal that’s _definitely_ dangerous instead.

Naruto wants to see his friend – it’s only been two days since he had last seen Sasuke (he left telling Naruto to hurry up and get better at skipping rocks), but he knew Sasuke would know what to do.

The adults usually sent messages to each other through the birds, but Naruto doesn’t know how to use them. The only time Naruto and Sasuke talk is when they are in-person.

His shoulder blades started to ache. But he ignores it.

After seeing his wings were the wrong colour, Naruto had avoided looking at them since. The black wings are just a physical reminder of all the ways he is different. 

Naruto had spent his weekend trying to figure how he could tie his blanket around himself and cover them.

But it was now or never.

He had to see Sasuke.

Naruto entered the town.

\--

4 YEARS AGO

Early the next morning, the big boss lady/Mrs. Outsutsuki comes to their room. Naruto and Sasuke are ready.

Last night, they’d agreed that Sasuke would try to talk to her. After Naruto had explained that she called him a ‘burden’, they’d thought of all the ways that Naruto could start doing extra chores and stop going to school so the teachers didn’t have to always give him special lessons. Anything to stay here.

Sasuke gracefully flies the short distance to hover in front of her, his white wings look soft and healthy and Naruto can see the muscles on his back flex under his shirt.

‘Mrs. Outsutsuki, please let Naruto stay. He can do lots of things to help,’ Sasuke starts. His voice is deep after just waking up, and Naruto can’t help thinking about how cool he is even at ten years old.

She raises her eyebrows, and looks a bit surprised before glaring again. ‘I don’t need to hear it – speak another word and you can leave too.’

Naruto sees Sasuke flinch as if he’s been physically attacked, but he doesn’t stop talking. ‘Maybe I will g-’

Naruto quickly interrupts. ‘It’s okay! Don’t worry, Sasuke. I’ll go.’ _Don’t you dare do anything to Sasuke._

Naruto grabs the bag they had packed (just in case their plan didn’t work) and walks over. He can feel Sasuke’s eyes on him. _Please don’t say anything else._

He doesn’t look back as he is lead out of the room and then the orphanage. He doesn’t want to see Sasuke’s face. Naruto prefers his last memory of Sasuke to be of them falling asleep together, index and middle fingers interlocked.

Outside the orphanage, Naruto walks and walks and walks. Eventually he meets a kind man called Iruka who gives him a few snacks and tells him there is an abandoned hut at the outskirts of town.

And so, his new life begins.

\--

Naruto looks down at the dirt and gravel as he walks through the narrow walking paths into town. He checks the knot of the blanket around his wings. It’s tight, and he concentrates really hard to make sure his new wings don’t involuntary twitch.

He hopes anyone who glances at him and knows his disability just assumes he is carrying a big bag.

As he gets closer to the town centre, he hears giggling kids in the air and the wind whooshing as adults running errands fly above him. 

Naruto had considered going to Mr. Ichiraku’s as usual, but he knew that he’d be found out straight away. The work he did usually made him sweaty, hot and tired. Carrying a blanket on his shoulders all day would not be easy to explain away.

_I need to find Sasuke_

Naruto has a vague idea of where Sasuke’s new family lives, so he starts walking in that direction. He isn’t walking for long when he hears someone land in front of him, their shadow darkening the ground he has been staring at.

‘Hey boy’

Naruto knows that voice. He finally looks up from the ground that always gave him comfort and glares, bright blue eyes narrowing. _Fucking Mizuki_

Mizuki has white shoulder length hair with a tint of blue, and a nose he loves to turn upwards at anyone he thinks is lesser than him. He used to teach Naruto at the orphanage, but refused to modify any part of the lesson that involved going up in the sky.

All Naruto can remember is the countless times he used his inability to fly to treat him like he is someone who should be collecting the rubbish that falls from the sky.

‘Don’t ignore me, where do you think you’re going?’ He smirks.

Naruto grits his teeth. ‘None of your business’

‘None of my business? Is that how you treat an old teacher? I might just pick you up and let you drop, maybe then you’d learn to fly – wouldn’t that be great,’ Mizuki laughs loudly.

Everyone flying above seems not to notice – or maybe they agree and think Naruto deserves it.

Naruto tries to walk past, but Mizuki blocks his path pretending to look contemplative. Naruto _does not_ have time for this. He needs to find Sasuke.

‘You know what I think? This is all part of the curse,’ Mizuki says. He looks smug.

Like Naruto hasn’t heard that one before – though with the new wings he has, he might be starting to believe it too.

‘And what’s this? You hiding something under there?’ Mizuki starts hovering slightly above the ground, and towers over Naruto. 

Naruto’s knees start sweating. He tied the knot on the blanket, right?

‘Fuck off!’ Naruto yells. Immediately he knows it’s a mistake. He could never control his temper.

Mizuki’s eyes narrow from where he is above Naruto. ‘A bit defensive, aren’t we?’

Naruto can see Mizuki calculating his next move.

He doesn’t wait – he starts running.

But he is no match to a flying adult trained with flight and combat. Mizuki easily tackles him to the ground, ripping the blanket off and letting it fall.

The corner of the blanket lands on his shoulder. 

Naruto hits the ground with his fist. _It’s over._

By the time the blanket has completely hit the ground, Mizuki has flown away from Naruto as if punched. ‘What – what the fuck is that?’ He yells.

Naruto starts crawling on to his hands and feet to stand up. He looks Mizuki right in the eyes, teeth barred. ‘None. Of. Your. Business.’

But it’s too late. Naruto looks up and sees the people who were previously flying around, and ignoring whatever was happening on the ground, look directly at the two of them – or more specifically the huge black wings now unfurled and emerging from his back.

‘He has black wings!’

‘Call the town leader – that’s not normal.’

‘We need help straight away.’

The chaos above sounds like bird chittering away in the morning and marking their territory.

Naruto knows if he doesn’t go now, he’ll never be free.

He has to fly.

He has to _fly._

\--

4 YEARS AGO 

Naruto sits in the cold hut. He’d spent the past few months exploring the forest, finding out which plants he could eat from and the nearest river with fish. He’d made friends with some small animals, and Iruka had introduced him to a ramen shop where he can go to work at once a week.

At eleven years old, Naruto thinks he is doing fine.

But…

He rubs his face and lays down on the floor. As he breathes, he can feel his body relaxing, the tiredness of the day catching up to him.

Naruto doesn’t remember the last time he got to play with someone. Or hug someone. Or cry on someone.

He’s been surviving since having to leave the orphanage, but he isn’t sure why he keeps holding on to this day to day life. 

Naruto is falling asleep, so he doesn’t think anything of faint footsteps he hears approaching the hut. It’s probably just another animal.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. ‘Naruto?’

Sleepy eyes quickly open wide. Sweat starts to gather on Naruto’s forehead, and his heart starts beating. _Who the hell is that?_

He quickly gets up, and gets the knife from the corner of the room, hiding it behind his back. He silently inches into the furthest corner of the hut and gets ready to attack. The door starts to open (he never bothers to lock it).

Naruto isn’t prepared for who he sees walking through the door.

A bit taller than before, but the same black hair and scowl. ‘There you are.’

Naruto drops the knife and it clatters on the ground behind him.

Sasuke looks at what he dropped behind him. ‘Whoa – a knife. Please don’t murder me,’ he jokes. He looks closely at Naruto’s face. ‘You remember me, right?’

Naruto is too shocked to say anything yet. His eyes start watering and he feels his face going red.

Someone came to find him.

‘Yes, of course, bastard!’ Naruto runs the short distance across the hut to grab Sasuke in the first hug he’s had for months. ‘How’d you find me?’

‘I got adopted a week after you left. Been asking around the town ever since. A guy called Iruka told me when I said I’m your friend.’ Sasuke reaches into a bag that Naruto just notices he brought with him. ‘I got you some things for you from my new parents.’

Sasuke hands Naruto a lunchbox filled with food and some drinks.

Naruto nearly starts crying. ‘Thanks, Sasuke.’

Maybe Naruto has his reason for surviving again.

\--

Naruto is shaking as he looks at all the people now staring at him like he is a monster. As if he can control what his body does and what it has made him – a freak.

 _I’m sick of this,_ Naruto thinks. _I’m going to be free._

Trying to imagine what he always thought it would feel like when he watched the kids in the orphanage, Naruto flaps his wings a bit.

He immediately hears a huge gush of wind and his hair gets ruffled.

Mizuki looks at him with wide eyes. ‘Don’t you dare,’ he says, starting to fly closer off the ground. He looks ready to tackle again. ‘We’ll catch you.’

Naruto ignores him and rolls his shoulders. He moves his wings with more energy. He can feel himself lift off the ground.

Looking down, Naruto can’t believe what he is seeing – his own two feet dangling and weightless.

Naruto meets Mizuki eyes and growls. ‘We’ll see about that.’

With no warning, Mizuki lunges at Naruto, arms open to try and grab him. Naruto doesn’t think, he immediately flies up higher and out of range of Mizuki. ‘Leave me alone!’ Naruto exclaims.

But Mizuki looks like he has seen his ticket to all the riches in the world. ‘I’m taking you to the town leader – don’t even try to run away.’

‘Sorry, but that’s simply not an option,’ Naruto says. He tests out using more pressure with one wing to change direction. _I can do this_

Mizuki flies towards him again, but Naruto somersaults in the air and grabs his feet.

‘What the fuck – you animal! Get off me!’

Naruto holds on, using all his weight to drag Mizuki back down the ground. He can see the white glossy wings Mizuki has straining to hold himself and Naruto in the air.

Just when they are both about to crash into the ground, Naruto lets go. The air and adrenaline are rushing through and around Naruto.

‘You little –‘ Mizuki screams. Naruto’s plan has worked. He watches as Mizuki loses balance and crashes, while Naruto glides close to the ground and then angles his wings to go back up.

Naruto is not coming back here.

\--

Even though Naruto had wanted to find Sasuke, Sasuke finds him first again.

After the fight with Mizuki and losing his blanket, Naruto had used his huge wing span to evade the people who had been watching the fight and then tried to capture him to find cover in a tree.

Naruto doesn’t know where Sasuke lives, so he starts scanning the town and looking for a building that matches the description of where Sasuke said he stayed.

The town where Naruto had lived almost his entire life looks like a totally different place. From this height, he can see the art on the tops of buildings, birds zooming by with important looking parcels, and kids playing games in the air.

At the bottom, where Naruto had become used to being, all you could see was dirt.

‘Idiot.’

Naruto quickly turns around, startled. He nearly lets out a scream.

Sasuke is there in mid-air, looking at him with cool eyes. Naruto had outgrown Sasuke in the last few months, but watching him easily control the tempo and pace of his wings to stay there effortlessly makes Naruto feel small like he did when he was younger.

Naruto cracks a huge smile. ‘Bastard, how’d you find me?’

‘The whole town is looking for you. I just might know how you think more than other people.’ He smirks. ‘My house is close by the way. You nearly found me.’

Sasuke glances at the black wings, huge and almost taking up all the space on the branch Naruto is sitting on. Naruto blushes. Even under normal circumstances, Sasuke makes him self-conscious. This is only ten times worse. ‘Care to explain?’ Sasuke asks.

Naruto shrugs. The stress and worry he had been feeling only two minutes ago feels like it’s fading away.

‘Look bastard, I don’t fucking know. They just grew out of me after you left, and I came to see you. I know it’s not normal, but I didn’t realise it was try-to-capture-me-not-normal. They all want to take me to the town leader.’

Sasuke frowns. He reaches his hands out, putting his knee on a nearby branch to get close to Naruto. ‘Why?’ He looks confused.

When his hand touches the top of his right wing, Naruto groans. It’s the first time someone has touched him on his new limbs. He doesn’t know if it feels good and safe because it’s Sasuke touching him, or if this is how it feels for everyone.

Sasuke seems to be thinking. He keeps his hand there. ‘I know where to go.’

‘What – where?’ Naruto knew Sasuke would know what to do.

‘One of my teachers – we can trust him. Let’s go, I’ll lead.’ Sasuke withdraws his hand. ‘We’re gonna have to fly high and fast so we can avoid being spotted. Can you do that yet?’

Naruto doesn’t really know if he can, but he nods anyway.

‘Okay, good.’ Sasuke replies. ‘Wait here first – I’ll check it’s clear.’

Sasuke pulls his wings close to this back and does small movements to maneouver himself through the tree branches and straight into the air. Naruto cranes his head to try and see what Sasuke is doing in between the leaves and branches blocking the view.

When he gets back, Naruto is scared but ready.

‘It’s clear. We’re heading west. Let’s go.’ Sasuke again starts moving, flying a different direction out of the trees. Naruto watches him for a bit before jumping off the tree branches to follow.

And falls.

Naruto screams. ‘Sasuke! Help!’ His wings suddenly feel like they aren’t working. _C’mon, work stupid wings!_

The wind is blowing through his ears, and Naruto feels like his breakfast is going to come up.

He looks down. He is going too fast to grab onto a branch and stop his fall.

Naruto’s eyes start watering, from the exposure, but also because it feels like his life is going to end before it even began.

‘Idiot!’ He can Sasuke’s voice, just before he feels like he's been punched in the gut. Sasuke has grabbed on to the back of his shirt and is holding him with both hands. ‘Fly you idiot! Use your shoulder blades – you’re too heavy!’

Naruto hears some seams in his shirt (one he got second hand from Iruka) start to rip.

Naruto closes his eyes and imagines what he felt like running away from Mizuki. It had felt like something inside of him shifted. He holds on to that feeling.

More seams rip.

_Fly. I have to fly._

He hears the wind. But this time it’s not from him falling – it’s his wings moving the air around him. Naruto starts flying, his arms and legs weightless again.

‘Finally, you big dumb idiot. What the hell was that? I thought you could fly already.’ Sasuke gently let his shirt go as Naruto gets his bearings.

Naruto doesn’t know how to explain what happened. He lands on sheepishly laughing. ‘Sorry, Sasuke.’

Sasuke already looks sick of him, but Naruto is used to that face so doesn’t think anything of it. 

‘I’ve always gotta make things exciting, right?’ Naruto laughs properly this time.

‘You sure do,’ Sasuke glares and starts flying in the direction he originally was going. Naruto follows, a feeling of hope entering his gut.


	3. Chapter 3

For the first time since they met, Naruto flies next to Sasuke. Nothing compares to how good this feels – even if tomorrow, Mr. Ichiraku gave him an unlimited lifetime supply of ramen, it wouldn’t make him as happy as he is now.

Sasuke flies like a hawk, soaring confidently with his white wings. His black hair looks messy as the wind pushes it back. Naruto wants to fly closer and touch it.

As they fly under trees, beside buildings and through branches, Naruto realises Sasuke has changed more than he realised. Four years apart has given Sasuke the time to learn stealth and strategy.

‘Where’d you learn all this?’ Naruto yells.

Sasuke looks at him like he is a disappointed parent, trying to figure out their misbehaving child. ‘What did I say about being quiet, dipshit?’ He looks ready to speed off and leave Naruto behind. But Naruto knows he doesn’t mean it. 

Instead of answering, Naruto starts flying closer to Sasuke and whispers in his ear.

‘Where’d you learn all this, bastard?’ He blows hot air on Sasuke’s cheek. The feeling of flying for the first time is making Naruto do things he’d usually only imagine in his fantasies.

Sasuke immediately glides sideways to get away from Naruto. But Naruto isn’t disappointed. He spots Sasuke blush from their new distance and his own heart beats faster.

Naruto doesn’t get the chance to try to make Sasuke blush more, because a few minutes later, Sasuke points to a ground-level building. It has grey walls and it looks big enough to sleep 50 orphans (squished together in bunk beds) or hold a training studio. Sasuke dives down and Naruto follows.

Naruto watches Sasuke land gracefully, toes first and then heels onto a dirt road. But Naruto lands and immediately stumbles, nearly falling onto his hands and knees. The dust gets kicked up around them, and Naruto starts coughing. Sasuke keeps walking.

Naruto looks around. He was right, it is some kind of training studio. Outside the building, there is exercise equipment and a huge grass area with an outdoor arena suspended 20 metres above it.

Naruto isn’t sure if he should talk, taking Sasuke’s warnings of being quiet more seriously in a new environment. There are probably other people here. He goes up to Sasuke and grabs his wrist.

Naruto looks at Sasuke with confused eyes when he turns around – he hopes Sasuke can still understand him like he could when they were little kids and they would answer each other’s questions without saying a word. ‘We’ve arrived,’ Sasuke says.

_I guess not._

Naruto lets go of Sasuke’s wrist, suddenly feeling like he just got rejected. Have things changed too much between them since they were kids?

There is an uncomfortable silence. This might just be how things are now. Honestly, Naruto isn’t even a hundred percent sure Sasuke accepts him with his new black wings – he did just become even more of a freak.

Sasuke’s eyebrows scrunch up. He looks ready to throw up, even though ten minutes ago while flying at 40 km/h and turning fast through tress he had been fine. 

‘After I got adopted… I decided I needed to learn how to fight.’ Sasuke takes a deep breath, as if talking is one of the hardest things he has ever done. ‘That’s how I learned all this.’

Seeing Sasuke look shy is even better than seeing Sasuke blush, Naruto thinks. He smiles hugely. ‘Awesome! You should’ve just said so! I wanna learn how to fight too!’

‘Idiot,’ Sasuke says and rolls his eyes.

They keep walking and reach a huge front door. Big red doors against grey walls. Naruto tries to look up to see the top of the building, but he can’t. It looks much bigger from the ground than the air.

Sasuke gets out a key from his pant pockets. The key seems way too small to fit the door lock, but it goes in smoothly and they enter the building.

Inside is one huge room, with training mats and a wall lined with weapons. ‘Wait here,’ Sasuke says.

Naruto keeps looking around, getting excited. His wings expand, as he tries to sniff out any dangers. He already knows that if anything were to happen, he would save Sasuke first.

_What type of training is Sasuke doing?_

Naruto waits for Sasuke.

And waits.

By the time Sasuke returns, Naruto is napping on one of the training mats. Sasuke seems him laying there with his mouth open as he breathes heavily, and kicks him squarely in the ribs.

Naruto wakes up with a yelp of pain and feels dizzy. The exhaustion of the day is catching up to him. The first thing he notices is Sasuke’s pretty face in a pinched expression. The second thing he notices is a tall, grey-haired man looking creepily at him. Half his face is covered with a face mask and he has a bandana over one eye.

‘What the fuck – who is that?’ Naruto jumps up. He stands legs wide apart and slightly squatting, ready to fly or fight or do whatever at any moment.

The grey-haired man seems to smile at him, or at least that’s what it feels like he is doing as all Naruto can see of his face is one eye that has crinkled up. ‘I’m Kakashi, and you must be Naruto.’

Naruto looks at Sasuke to find out if he can trust this man. His body language is relaxed. Naruto thinks he can still read Sasuke pretty well.

‘Are you – are you gonna help us?’ Naruto looks curiously at the man. Feeling some of the adrenaline fade away from being woken up suddenly, Naruto start to notice where Sasuke kicked him a bit more and winces. That’s definitely going to bruise.

Kakashi humms under his breath. He starts to walk around Naruto. ‘I suppose. It is a favour being asked by a dear student of mine.’

Naruto rocks side to side on his feet. It’s an uncomfortable feeling being so obviously examined. Unconsciously, he stretches his wings and feels soreness in his shoulders. Probably from using muscles there he has never used before.

Sasuke is looking closely at Naruto too. As if seeing the black wings himself for the first time.

‘These are quite big, aren’t they?’ Kakashi says. ‘Considering you’re a fourteen year old boy.’

Naruto bristles. ‘I’m not a boy.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Kakashi says. Somehow, even though he didn’t say any words, it sounds demeaning.

‘Now, _boys,_ I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the myth of the kyuubi.’

They both shake their heads.

‘Once every 10,000 years, someone is born with great black wings and granted immense power. There is no evidence. But they say whoever last had those wings founded many of the cities and towns around today.’

Naruto and Sasuke both look at each other in shock.

‘If that is indeed what this is, Naruto, your life will never be the same.’

\-- 

Naruto can’t believe the world is still moving while he is still stuck in that training room with Kakashi telling him his life would never be the same.

He is sitting on one of the beds in the back of the training room drinking tea. Right now is the last time he will be able to stay in the town he grew up in.

After that conversation, Sasuke and Kakashi had discussed their future plans. It was decided that they would sleep a few hours and then leave in the middle of the night when the town’s people would have less visibility of them.

If other people know about the myth, then they probably want to capture or kill Naruto before he can discover his true powers. From now on, people would either want to use him or destroy him.

They would have to live in hiding until… The ‘until when’ wasn’t decided.

Sasuke walks in to the room. He has some sandwiches. He chucks one on Naruto’s lap. ‘Eat and then sleep.’

Naruto looks at the food on his lap as he hears Sasuke ruffle the bedsheets on the other side of the room and get in. When Sasuke’s head hits the pillow, Naruto looks across.

‘Don’t come with me,’ Naruto says.

Sasuke turns his head and look at him like he is crazy. 

‘You’ve already helped me enough, thank you.’ Naruto’s heart feels like it’s constricting, getting smaller and smaller. He’ll never forget the moment he and Sasuke got to fly side by side.

‘Are you an idiot?’ Sasuke says, then laughs to himself. ‘Don’t worry I already know the answer to that.’

Naruto creases his eyebrows, and grabs the sandwich, ready to chuck it at Sasuke’s face. ‘Shut up, bastard.’

‘I’m not leaving you again.’ Sasuke says simply, like he is saying the sky is blue.

Naruto doesn’t say anything else after that.

\--

They get ready to leave at 2am. Kakashi gives Naruto a big cloak that some people wear to protect their wings from rain while walking. Sasuke wears a long coat.

Their first stop is the hut where Naruto had lived. The place is a mess and it’s obvious people have already been there, so they keep going.

Naruto doesn’t look back as they fly silently through trees, landing on branches to take short breaks. They travel until the next night and make a small camp in a cave, sleeping close together for warmth.

At one moment, when they had decided to walk for a few kilometres, Naruto had looked up to the sky. Wondering what could have been.

Now he walks side by side with Sasuke, trying to run away from everything he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter will have more action.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you liked it, or have any suggestions to improve the writing! 
> 
> I'm going to aim to update soon - it will be 5 or 6 chapters total.


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